Today the Inner Changes Psychotherapy, NLP and Hypnotherapy practice in Manchester celebrates its 11th anniversary. When I first opened the doors of my Manchester Psychotherapy practice to clients 11 years ago, I held brand new professional qualifications in NLP and Clinical Hypnotherapy and had read countless books on both subjects, but it very quickly became apparent to me that I had only just begun the real learning process. There is no substitute for real life practical experience: the day-to-day interaction with people; no two of whom are the same. There is no magic template or technique you can apply as a one size fits all. Every person who walks through my door is unique. Accordingly, the treatment for every client has to be individually tailored and fluid, adjusting from moment to moment within every session. This is one of the main reasons why I threw the standard pre-written hypnotherapy scripts used by many hypnotherapists in the bin in the first few weeks of practicing, and adopted a flexible, tailored and ultimately more effective approach. Over the years many people have asked me why I became a therapist. There are many reasons, but my greatest motivation has always been to help people realise their potential, both personally and professionally. It’s so common to be prevented from achieving your dreams because of treatable conditions like phobias, addictions, anxiety or stress, and once you banish those to the past you can go forward and become the person you want to be. I think what helps me guide others is my own personal experience of anxiety and panic attacks which held me back when I was younger. Having had run-ins myself with these all-too-common limiting conditions gives me a depth of understanding of them, coupled with a strong sense of empathy for the person sitting with me in my consulting room. In eleven years of full-time practice, I have conducted literally thousands of therapy sessions and treated more conditions than I have room to list in this blog entry, but there are certain psychological issues in which I have gained particularly strong expertise, such as generalised anxiety, panic attacks, depression, insomnia, fear of public speaking, social anxiety, addictions, OCD, confidence building, relationship issues, and stress. I have gone on to obtain specialist training in other areas and now hold certificates in Stress Management, Anger Management, Working with Shame, Treating Insomnia and Sleep Disorders, Working with Addictions, Treating IBS, Human Development, Psychopathology and Ethical Practice. I also embarked on a formal UKCP accredited training programme in Psychotherapy in 2006, obtaining an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy, allowing me to become a UKCP Registered Psychotherapist. This qualification has significantly increased my breadth of knowledge and skills, and my ability to work effectively with difficult and complex cases. I believe strongly that it’s very important to keep learning and progressing, and my professional evolution reflects that, with an expansion in 2010 into a practice in London’s Harley Street, and being taken on by the National phobic organisation Anxiety UK as an approved therapist. More than a decade running my clinic has also given me the time to add many other strings to my bow in terms of additional fields of therapy, so that now I can honestly say I offer a fully integrative approach, which now draws on many therapeutic approaches including Contemporary Psychotherapy, Gestalt Therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), Systemic NLP, Clinical Hypnotherapy, Ericksonian Hypno-Psychotherapy, Self-Relations Psychotherapy, Mindfulness, Counselling, and Family Systems Therapy. Combined I think they help me offer a holistic and individually-tailored approach to each person I work with. It would appear that I have managed to strike the right balance, as a significant number of clients return for treatment of conditions in addition to the one they initially consulted on. I also receive a lot of new clients who have come to me via recommendations from past or current existing clients. There is no doubt that my training and experience has added depth, knowledge, understanding, flexibility and adaptability to my approach, and as I enter my twelfth year of practice, I intend building upon that even more. I am genuinely excited about what the coming year holds for Inner Changes. In addition to my more conventional psychotherapy practice, based in a traditional consulting room, I will be expanding upon my work in Ecotherapy. This relatively new form of therapy moves the client into a natural setting, delivering treatment via workshops, one-to-one sessions, exercises and guided meditations, all of which are conducted in the countryside, utilising Nature itself as part of the healing process. This is a relatively new area of discovery in therapeutic terms, so in many ways, I will actually be contributing to the field as I explore it. This could be daunting for some, but as I often say to my clients, it’s beneficial to keep changing, evolving and moving forward. It’s great looking back today at how far I have come, but it’s equally fantastic to be looking ahead and embracing the challenges of tomorrow. Article: Today the Inner Changes Psychotherapy, NLP and Hypnotherapy practice in Manchester celebrates its 11th anniversary. By Rachael Magowan Blog researched and written by Rowan Creative Copywriting Service Manchester